Fire-screen mount



Dec. 1960 R. c. BOTT EIAL 2,963,250

FIRE-SCREEN MOUNT Filed June 1, 1959 INVENTORS RAYMOND C 5077 Eg /40MB 0. PULONE United Stats Patent FIRE-SCREEN MOUNT Raymond C. Bott, 211 N. Madison Ave., Los Angeles, Calif., and Edmond D. Pulone, Arcadia, Calif. (211 N. Madison Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.)

Filed June 1, 1959, Ser. No. 817,113

6 Claims. (Cl. 248-401) This invention relates to a mount for fire screens and has for an object to provide a mount that may be placed in operative position without tools, particularly obviating the need for drilling holes and for performing such other tool-performed operations that heretofore were necessary, and which greatly increased the cost of installing fire-screen mounts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a firescreen mount that is readily adjustable to properly fit different fireplace sizes and conditions, the mount being so made that adjustment is automatically effected as the mount is secured in operative position.

The invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention 'also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will 'morefully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawing merely shows and the following description merely describes, one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional View of a fireplace as seen from the inside toward the opening thereof and provided with a fire-screen mount according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional View as taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the portion of the mount that is shown in Fig. 2.

The drawing shows a conventional fireplace opening that is framed by sides 5 and a spanning mantel wall 6, the latter, in the usual way, being provided with a lintel 7 that supports the same. It is quite usual for the lintel 7 to comprise a length of angle iron that is usually secured in place on the inner lower corner of the spanning wall 6 and is ordinarily obscured from view from the outside. The present mount is secured to said lintel 7.

The fire-screen mount of the present invention comprises, generally, a facia plate 8 spanning across the fireplace along the front of the mantel wall thereof, one or more rearwardly directed mount bars 9 extending from the inner face of the facia plate 8, a lintel-engaging bar 10 in fiatwise engagement with each bar 9, and a clamp device 11 in clamping engagement with each bar 9 and engaging bar 10 and impinged with the lintel 7 to create a friction lock between each pair of bars 9 and 10. While two such pairs are shown, three or more may be used according to the span of the fireplace.

The facia plate 8 serves as a support for a screenmounting rod 12, said plate being provided on its inner and adjustable along said rod 12.

2,963,250 Patented Dec. 6, 1960 face with end-positioned mounting brackets "13 for the end of the rod. A screen is adapted to'be carried by It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the plate spans between sides 5 and, from Figs. 2 and 3, that the same is disposed preferably flush with the front of wall 6.

The mount bar 9 is shown as a metal strip that is affixed to the plate 8 as by screws '14 and is'dispo'sed relative to the top edge of said plate so as to pass rearwardly beneath the lintel 7 and extend somewhat in- Ward of said lintel. A longitudinal slot 15 is formed in the bar 9 and is of suitable length for various ad- .justed positions of the bar 10, as will later be seen.

The lintel-engaging bar 10 is shown as the same width as bar 9 butthe widths of these bars may be different from each other. At one end, said bar 10 is provided with a hook 16 that is adapted to extend through the slot 15 to a height sufficient to hook onto the forward edge 17 of the lintel. It will be realized that thebar 10 extends rearward from where the'hook 16 thereof is engaged with the lintel. Thus, the'two bars are in fiatwise superposed relationship with the bar 10 beneath the bar 9.

The clamp device 11 is shown as a plate 18 in which is provided an end-closed slot 19 that is slightly wider than the sum of the thicknesses of the bars 9 and 10, the length .of said slot being long enough to accommodate the superposed bars, as can be seen in Fig. '3. It will be evident that the plate 18 may be readily slid onto and back and forth on said bars and that the bars may be relatively longitudinally slid. Aset screw plate 18 in "spaced relation to-the slot 19.

Regardless of the'thickness of the mantel wall '6,'it is a simple matter to locate "the facia plate *8, '"as "desired, at the front of the fireplace opening, adjust the bar 10 rearwardly so that its hook 16 catches on the edge 17 of the lintel 7, slide the plate 18 forwardly along the superposed bars 9 and 10 to a position closely adjacent the lintel, and then take up on the screw 20 until the same, by impingement of its point 21 against the lintel, rocks the plate rearwardly, causing the opposite faces of the slot to frictionally grip said superposed plates. Thus, the plates 9 and 10 are firmly locked together, with the mount so engaged with the lintel 7 that the same supports the facia plate 8 and the screen carried thereby.

The transverse bend shown in the plate 18 enables the slot walls to grip the bars 9 and 10 while the screw 20 has a slightly downwardly directed angle of impingement with the lintel. Slippage is thereby obviated.

While the foregoing specification illustrates and describes what we now contemplate to be the best mode of carrying out our invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention. Therefore, we do not desire to restrict the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but desire to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A fire-screen mount for a fireplace having a mantel wall with an opening and provided with a transverse lintel supporting said wall and disposed at the lower inner corner of the mantel wall and spaced inward from the outer face of said wall, said mount comprising a screen-carrying facia plate within and spanning across the front of the fireplace opening, and at least two mounting assemblies for said plate, each assembly comprising a rearwardly directed bar secured to the facia plate and provided with a longitudinal slot, a second bar beneath the slotted bar and provided with a hook extending through the mentioned slot into hooking engagement with the front of the lintel, said bars being superposed, and a clamp frictionally gripping said superposed bars rearwardly of the mantel wall to lock the same against relative longitudinal movement, said clamp being provided with a set screw to engage the rear of the lintel and adjustably tilt the same to grip the bars.

2. A fire-screen mount for a fireplace having a mantel wall with an opening and provided with a transverse lintel supporting said Wall and disposed at the lower inner corner of the mantel wall and spaced inward from the outer face of said wall, said mount comprising a screen-carrying facia plate within and spanning across the front of the fireplace opening, and at least two mounting assemblies for said plate, each assembly com.- prising a rearwardly directed bar secured to the facia plate and provided with a longitudinal slot, a second bar beneath the slotted bar and provided with a hook extending through the mentioned slot into hooking engagement with the front of the lintel, said bars being superposed, a clamp plate rearwardly of the mantel wall having a transverse slot through which the superposed bars extend, and means impinging the rear of the lintel and tilting the clamp plate to cause the opposite edges defining the latter slot to frictionally grip said superposed bars.

3. A fire-screen according to claim 2 in which said means comprises a wing screw threadedly carried by the clamp plate at an angle whereby the impinging end of 39 said screw is directed angularly downwardly against the lintel.

4. A fire-screen according to claim 2 in which said means comprises a wing screw threadedly carried by the clamp plate at an angle whereby the impinging end of said screw is directed angularly. downwardly against the lintel, the clamp plate having a transverse bend between the slot thereof and the screw.

5. A fire-screen mount comprising an elongated bar having a longitudinal slot that extends along the forward portion of said bar, a screen-mounting plate provided at the end of the slotted portion of said bar, a second bar beneath and in flatwise contact with the elongated bar and provided with a hook that extends through the slot in the elongated bar and is adapted to have hooking engagement with the front edge of a fireplace lintel, a slotted clamp plate through the slot of which the rearward portions of the two bars rearwardly extend and disposed rearwardly of the lintel that is engaged by the mentioned hook, and an adjustable member carried by said plate above the slot therein and adapted to impinge on the rear face of the lintel to so tilt the plate as to cause the opposite edges defining the slot in the plate to frictionally grip the upper face of the elongated bar and the lower face of the other bar to both clamp said bars together and the mount to the lintel, whereby the lintel carries the screen-mounting plate.

6. A fire-screen mount according to claim 5 in which the plate is bent along a transverse line to provide an upper forwardly angled portion, and the mentioned adjustable member comprises a set screw extending through said plate portion and directed at a forward and downward angle to impinge on the rear face of the lintel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 875,403 Adams Dec. 31, 1907 1,236,269 Cole Aug. 7, 1917 2,398,240 Merryweather et al. Apr. 8, 1946 2,736,527 Maier Feb. 28, 1956 2,765,139 White Oct. 2, 1956 2,808,824 Cage Oct. 8, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,099,140 France- Mar. 16, 1955 

